This paper presents practical realization of a two-turn meander microstrip line with reduced size. For the first time, two approaches were applied for this purpose: the use of radio absorbing material (RAM) and additional folding of each meander line turn into non-core turns. It was revealed that the sequences of arrival of decomposed pulses in structures with and without RAM differ. In this regard, new conditions for decomposition of USP were formulated. It was revealed that folding of each turn of meander MSL into minor turns leads to additional attenuation of the USP. According to the experimental results, the attenuation of a USP in such a structure was 15.3 dB. The width and length of the fabricated prototype were 46 and 57 mm. By contrast, without using RAM and folding, the dimensions were 10 and 575 mm, and the attenuation of a USP was only 4.08 dB. The analysis of the N-norms of the studied structure showed, that N1, N2, N3, and N5 decreased by 5.75, 13.16, 1.04, and 2.92 times, while N4 increased by 1.54 times. The structure can be used in DC power circuits with voltages and currents up to 530 V and 850 mA.

In this study, we investigated a new structure of a protective meander line (ML): a meander microstrip line (MSL) with two passive conductors. The existing theory of ultra-short pulse (USP) attenuation in MLs is presented for the first time. Based on this theory, we determined the number of decomposed pulses at the output of the MSL line with two passive conductors, and, for the first time, formulated the conditions for pulse decomposition in the line. The folding of the MSL line into non-core turns was studied in detail. As a result of this study, we proposed a new theory that involves the utilization of additional groups of decomposed pulses for enhanced USP attenuation. These additional groups were thoroughly examined, and the delays of pulses from these groups were defined. This analysis allowed identifying the reason for their appearance. It was revealed that folding the meander line into non-core turns allows further attenuation of the USP amplitude, which increases with the increase of the number of non-core turns. To validate the obtained simulation results, we performed experimental measurements and obtained good consistency of the results. The N-norms analysis demonstrated that combined use of such folding and passive conductors reduces the probability of electrical breakdown, arc discharge, and dielectric breakdown. The maximum USP attenuation at the output was 24.9 dB. As a result of useful signal integrity analysis, it is proposed to use a folded meander microstrip line (MSL) together with a USB 2.0 “Full-speed” interface with a data transfer rate of 12 Mbit/s. In addition, it is proposed to use such MSLs in DC power circuits.

It is known that electrostatic discharge (ESD) is one of the frequent causes of integrated circuits failure and loss of spacecraft. However, the danger is not only the pulse itself, but also the crosstalk from it at the near (NEXT) and far (FEXT) ends. To investigate the possibility of their attenuating by meander line (ML) with a broad-side coupling, a coupled microstrip line (MSL) was studied. As a result, the structure with a protected active line appeared to be the most promising. Also, the levels of NEXT and FEXT in it do not exceed 2 and 1.5% of half of the e.m.f. at s=1000 µm, and when s=100 µm â\euro“ 10 and 3%. In addition to evaluating signal attenuation, N-norms were analyzed as well. The most noteworthy is the non-linear nature of the change in N2 depending on s. It is also notable that the proposed protection of the line from crosstalk leads to a decrease in N1, N2, and N5. However, N3 and N4 increase at the same time.Â